Inflection Point

I find myself at an inflection point so it seems to be a perfect time to re-dedicate myself to writing in this self authorship journal. This is a journal just for me now as there is no way for the public eye to see it. Maybe one day I’ll open it up? Or perhaps I’ll take all the “self authorship” tagged posts and compile them, but for now, locked down. 

Why an inflection point? I think the end of my PhD journey has hit me with a bit of a back hand. What I mean by that is that for the past four years I was so dedicated to sprinting toward the finish line that I never considered what might happen when I hit the finish line tape. I feel like I’m lost. No purpose. No meaning. Not sure of where I stand at work at all, and a bit awash at home too. 

Writing in Katy

Someone from another writer’s forum asked me where I write. They are much younger than I am and they were picking my brain for pointers on how to write more and write more effectively. 

One of the best and my favorite places to write is this Starbuck’s in Katy. 

Just 500

Right now I’m a word counter.

The other day I wrote that I’m flipping ole Sunset Perfect on it’s head. I’m simplifying a lot! Like a lot a a lot. Which is good. I think the story through the years had taken on a bit of a Frankenstein’s Monster look. It had become something it wasn’t. It was several stories lumped into one. Worst of all, it was boring. 

Now, I think it’s far sleeker, far more to the point. TOTALLY brand new characters who are all an amalgamation of the ones that were in the Frankenstein version, and the EXACT same plot and story, just told from a different, more appealing angle. 

Plagiarism at Harvard

Politics aside, I'm stunned by the revelations around the Harvard president, Claudine Gay. Having just completed my dissertation, I am VERY sensitive to some of the rules of plagiarism and giving propers citations. To find out that she lifted MANY portions of her dissertation and of her subsequent articles from uncited and other sources without proper attribution is STUNNING to me. (I know, lots of caps, but I think this deserves that).

While writing my own dissertation, I was surprised by the amount of paraphrasing that was necessary. They do not want just a ton of quotes and citations. They want you to distill other scholar's thoughts and lift them up and use them, but not copy and paste them. If you do quote . . . cite properly. If you take a sentence from someone else, you can't just switch a word or two and cite them. Either quote, paraphrase completely, or don't use. 

Trouser Man and Unsung Heroes

 Sometimes I struggle with these self-authorship posts. Why? Cause I’m not thoughtful about self-authorship,  . . . Well no. Mostly because I’ll think of something and forget it by the time I get around to having the time to write about it. Yesterday, I was on a jog, had a great idea, but this morning I can’t remember it at all!

So, I’m writing this one down right now. 

Epiphanies

I love when inspiration strikes. 

One of the most memorable moments of inspiration for me was one day while I worked with that contractor organization and I was on a jog trying to figure out how I was going to design the craft certification training that Brad and Rick wanted to be completed. Now, I don't remember exactly what hit me, but I remember how it hit me and where. BOOM! I had been chewing on the problem, and it just hit me. It was almost like a dog worrying on a bone, and then POOF the problem was fixed when I least expected it. It was a great feeling. And the idea was a great one.

Well, it happened again. This time with my writing. 

Taking a Break (and Breaking Apart)

Loyal readers might notice that a very large subset of information on this blog is gone. Poof! 

Yep, I split the old blog up. There is now a NEW blog on just adult education posts and self-authorship journal entries. Why? Well, it’s a bit of mix isn’t it? I started posting on adult ed stuff here just so I had some place to put all the junk I was writing. Now that I’m done with my dissertation, I think it deserves it’s own place. So there ya have it. Wander over to the new blog if you like the adult ed posts. This one will go back to just writing and reading nonsense. - this is the “break apart” aspect of the title. 

What about the taking a break aspect? 

Raise Problems

Four years of hard work, and I finally got rewarded by my organization for all that work. Lets keep a few things in mind. First, I never thought about getting a PhD, my boss wanted me to. Also, let's remember, that it's a PhD in the very thing that we do, adult learning. Lastly, let's remember that I did it super quick while keeping down my job. Lots of weekends, lots of classes, etc etc. 

Then there's the counterpoints . . . right? They paid for the courses. 40K or so in tuition, 5K or so in travel. They also funded my study and gave me some time to do the work. But still, four years and I finally get my raise. 

Bonus Probs

So, I'm fairly upset these days. Why? Well, it's salary and bonus time again. The most frustrating time of the year hands down. No matter how much you might think, "oh, look, I'm giving my employees a bump and a bonus, they'll be so happy" and BOOM, nothing but complaints.

That being said, there are problems with the process. The process is supposed to be: (1) I meet with my directors, (2) I get their input on their employees, who's done well that year, who hasn't, etc. (3) I do my best to meet the departmental budget and overages have to be explained then (4) I get final approval from my boss on the increases and bonuses before the managers tell their teams.